A Massachusetts man with ties to the Mohawk Valley allegedly used the social networking site MySpace to correspond with a 15-year-old girl about engaging in sexual contact, officials from the Oneida County Child Advocacy Center said.

Vanessa Ebbeling

A 35-year-old Massachusetts man with ties to the Mohawk Valley allegedly used the social networking site MySpace to correspond with a 15-year-old girl about engaging in sexual contact, according to officials from the Oneida County Child Advocacy Center.

Gregory S. Malecki, of Feeding Hills, Mass., is facing charges in connection with that correspondence after he traveled to the area to see the girl, said Investigator Richard J. Salamone of the Child Advocacy Center.

Investigators believe Malecki knew the girl prior to their communication on the Internet, Salamone said.

“He's come here periodically in the past, primarily on holidays and things, or for special events,” Salamone said.

Law enforcement groups including the Child Advocacy Center, the New York State Police and the FBI in Syracuse conducted a two-month investigation, officials said.
Malecki was apprehended Saturday in New Hartford, where he was scheduled to meet the girl, Salamone said.

“We knew where the meeting place was going to be and intercepted it before anything could happen,” Salamone said.

In early November, the teen went to the Child Advocacy Center to complain about prior non-consensual activity, Salamone said. Malecki might face additional charges relating to that incident, he said.

“It was unwanted,” he said. “It was more of a forceful touching.”

The victim has been offered counseling through the Child Advocacy Center, officials said.

According to O-D archives, Malecki is formerly of Deerfield. He fathered a child in 2003 in Massachusetts, according to a birth announcement from that year.

Malecki also ran the Boilermaker earlier this year, according to race results published in the O-D.

He was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Syracuse and released, officials said. He cannot have contact with the victim or her family, officials said. He will return to court at a later date, officials said.